When Robert Pattinson was introduced as the new actor for the movie The Batman of Matt Reeves, many did not see him in the role. However, the actor has proven himself and many praise his talent by presenting him as theone of the best batman to date, but is this due to its more big flaw ? Probably, according to the director.
Robert Pattinson: a fragile batman?
For many, Robert Pattinson is still and always linked to his image of vampire shining in the sun of the films Twilight. Series of films that he hates the most, as he considers that they were the biggest mistakes of his acting career. When he was announced as the incarnation of the Dark Knight in The Batman, it made a lot of people cringe who only knew him through this prism. However, it is now classified in the top three best Batman actors, alongside Christian Bale from the trilogy The Dark Knight by Christopher Nolan. The character in Matt Reeves’ film is a darker, tortured Bruce Wayne with a wider range of emotions. The role would have been difficult to hold for an actor not having a certain sensitivity, and Robert Pattinson responded favorably to the demands of the directorespecially according to him thanks to his biggest flaw.
Indeed, Matt Reeves explains that Robert Pattinson’s natural clumsiness is almost legendary, whether it’s spoken or in his gestures. While all of the previous actors have been encouraged to be heaps of muscle to fight crime at night, Robert has a very fragile natural body, and weight training even to wear the costume has been a real ordeal for him. The actor is also very awkward and hesitant in public, he knows that, and that’s something he controls and plays with. In a media interview KCRWMatt Reeves explains that this made it possible to create a more human Bruce Wayne with a greater range of emotion than that of other actors. The director praised Pattinson’s ability to bring all the emotions the scene needs, while being able to adapt to the technical needs of a shoot, such as the placement of the camera:
[Sa maladresse], it’s something he has complete control over while being a true facet of his personality. He works in a way that might look like a methodical actor, who are usually very cold. Yet he has great access to his emotions, his body and the way he moves. It’s very technical and very intentional. I can tell him “I need you to be warmer in your gaze, and also to lean a little to the left because of the hood that prevents the light from hitting your eye”, and he will do it in a way almost natural. It is truly fascinating.
The Batman : “a conscious and instinctive clumsiness”
Matt Reeves is incredibly complimentary about his lead actor. He also adds that the secret of such an ability to control his emotions “must come from a very internal place, very buried deep within itself, as if that is what it truly is. Even when he seems angry or out of control, he keeps control of her voice and her movements, to calibrate her and her movements. The choices he makes are on some level, very self-aware.it is difficult to pin down because some of them must necessarily be unconscious, innate, even instinctive.”
Matt Reeves wanted to give a darker and tortured Batman take on the character inspired by three excellent comics, and the controlled awkwardness, let’s call it that, of Pattinson in the title role reinforced this intention. There has been a huge work of interpretation, and it is not the various interviews with the actor that will make us say the opposite, since he himself has tried many times to innovate in the character. The actor’s palette of emotions allowed him to excel in many rolesas in The Lighthouse, Cosmopolis, The Lost City of Z or Good Time which we highly recommend.
